Nothing prepared him for this. Not the playoffs. Not injuries as a player. Not gut-gnawing losses as a manager.

Just past midnight 11 days ago, Rockies manager Jim Tracy collapsed at the winter meetings as he walked toward an elevator.

“I was scared, definitely. It did make me think about a lot of things,” Tracy said in his first interview since the episode at Disney’s Swan and Dolphin Resort in Orlando. “I felt fine. Then, all of a sudden, I wasn’t doing real well.”

During a brief hospital stay, doctors diagnosed Tracy with a mild arrhythmia, or irregular heartbeat. He returned to Denver this week, undergoing a battery of tests with a cardiologist that all came back negative. Tracy attended meetings and the organizational Christmas party the past few days before returning to his part-time home in Bradenton, Fla., on Friday.

“I am so thankful for the work done by (Denver cardiologist) Barry Molk. He was great with everything. He helped give me peace of mind,” Tracy said.

Tracy recalled the incident, providing details of a frightening moment for a Rockies organization that lost president Keli McGregor to a heart virus in April. After spending much of his night in the Rockies’ war room, Tracy went to the crowded lobby with coaches Tom Runnells and Carney Lansford.

Tracy visited with several old friends and remembers congratulating Cubs manager Mike Quade on his new job. Around 12:40 a.m., Tracy and the Rockies’ contingent headed toward the elevators.

“I got dizzy. I tried to brace myself on the concrete pillar because I felt like I was going to pass out,” Tracy said. “I remember my hand slipping down the pillar. Then that’s it. The next thing I remember is looking up from the floor at everybody.”

Tracy was taken to an Orlando hospital and released 12 hours later. He said he hasn’t had any problems since. Tracy plans on returning to Denver in January for coaches’ meetings before heading to fantasy camp in preparation for the Rockies’ first spring training in Scottsdale, Ariz.

“I feel strong. And I really do believe that I will feel better than ever this spring,” Tracy said. “I can’t wait to get the season going again. It was scary, but this could end up helping me.”

Troy joined The Denver Post in 2002 as the Rockies' beat writer and became a Broncos beat writer in 2014 before assuming the lead role before the 2015 season. He is a past president of the local chapter of Baseball Writers Association of America and has won more than 20 local and national writing awards since graduating from the University of Colorado journalism school with honors in 1993.

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